Hello and happy holidays everyone!
Hope you and your schools enjoy much success and good fortune in
the year 2000 and beyond. This letter serves to update you on BONUS
news and give business officers and deans a preview of our BONUS
2000 conference in Denver this April.

Mission and Purpose of BONUS

The purpose of our organization is
to advance and enhance the professional skills of personnel working
in the administration of nursing education in the areas of business,
technology, finance, and administration within nursing schools,
and to facilitate networking among members of the Business Officers
of Nursing group. The organization also facilitates communications
between the staff and officers of the American Association of Colleges
of Nursing (AACN) and the business officers of member schools. We
hope all school of nursing deans will support the relevant people
in their organizations to be active BONUS members and to attend
its annual conference.

For more information about BONUS, please
visit our web site at www.bonus.aacn.nche.edu.
The site includes the history and by-laws of the organization, a
list of current officers and members (including their addresses
and phone numbers), newsletters, conference information, and other
items of interest. The site will continue to be updated and expanded
and we hope it will be useful to you.

Steering Committee Meeting

The BONUS Steering Committee met in
San Diego the weekend of October 15, 1999. The purpose of our meeting
was to finalize the conference plans for the upcoming Denver conference.
We also wanted to look for a suitable hotel in San Diego for our
2001 conference which we had planned to hold in sunny, California.

Everything was going wonderfully with
our planning (we have a great agenda for Denver) until about 2:45
that Saturday morning when we all woke up rocking & rolling
from an unexpected earthquake that hit the west coast (measuring
7.0). In my case, I woke up because the door to my television unit
popped open and the window blind rods were dancing crazily and making
a huge racket -- an exciting but rather frightening experience.
The other Steering Committee members had similar tales and at dinner
that night, a decision was made to change the location of the 2001
conference from San Diego to Tucson, Arizona. The by-laws state
that the conference location is the Steering Committee's decision
and Tucson was the first choice of the majority of members.

When I returned to Boston from San
Diego, I contacted our AACN liaison, Jennifer Ahearn, who worked
quickly to secure a terrific (and affordable) site for us in Tucson
-- the Westward Look Resort. For those of you who like to plan ahead,
the Tucson conference will be held from April 25-27, 2001.

2000 BONUS Conference

Plans are being finalized for our BONUS
conference in Denver, Colorado from April 26 - April 28, 2000. The
conference is entitled "BONUS 2000 - Investing in the Future of
Nursing," and it may be the best one yet! The following topics will
be discussed:

Financial issues our nursing schools
will face in the next millennium and the steps we must take to
meet these challenges (e.g., keeping up with the high cost of
echnology, building our endowments, and the growing need for additional
space with increasing research, etc.)

School of Nursing Building/Construction
projects- for those of you fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to
be in the process of renovating or rebuilding your schools

The conference will take place at the
Adams Mark Hotel -- a gorgeous, full service

accommodation and the largest hotel
in Colorado. It is located downtown on Denver's famous 16th Street
Pedestrian Mall, a mile-long pedestrian promenade lined with shops,
restaurants, and entertainment. Free shuttle buses run its length,
providing easy access to all downtown attractions. A special Saturday
trip into the Rocky mountains is also being planned for conference
participants. More specific conference information and registration
forms will follow closer to the date.

Officer Nominations Needed

During the April 2000 BONUS conference
in Denver, our annual business meeting will be held. An election
to fill four BONUS officer positions will take place at this time.
Please consider nominating yourself or another BONUS member for
any of the following four positions: President-Elect, Planning Committee
Chair, Special Projects Chair, or Membership Chair. The responsibilities
and terms of the positions are described in the BONUS by-laws, available
on the BONUS web site: www.bonus.aacn.nche.edu.
The nomination process will run through January 2000 and nominations
will also be accepted at the annual meeting. Nominations should
be sent to Nominating Committee Chair Susie Miller at Auburn University
School of Nursing. Please e-mail her at millesj@mail.auburn.edu
or FAX her at 334-844-4177.

We hope BONUS members will seriously
consider running for office. We need new blood and it's a great
way to get more actively involved in a most worthwhile organization.
Networking and sharing solutions with people encountering similar
issues can greatly assist us all in moving our nursing schools successfully
into the future.

With sincere wishes for a most happy
and healthy new year,

Susan Donelan
BONUS President and Assistant Dean for Administration
Boston College School of Nursing, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3812